Militant makes jihad calls in Kazakh language

July 18 2013, 14:43

Site Intel Group has uploaded a video showing a militant, allegedly Kazakhstan-born, calling for jihad in Syria. The video was shot by Iraq division Al-Qaeda known as ISI (Islamic State of Iraq) or ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant).

According to the website, French militant Abu Abul Rahman al-Firinsi speaks first on the video. He calls the Muslims of France to take part in the Syrian war. Then an Egyptian named Saifulla from Shariah4Sham group joins the call of the French militant.

A militant named Abu Mu'adh al-Muhajir speaks third. The website writes that he is from Kazakhstan. In the video he appeals to the Muslims of Kazakhstan and the whole world to go to jihad in Syria. The militant speaks the Kazakh language. “My brothers, if you are true Muslims, you should feel the pain of your brothers in Syria, Palestine and Lebanon. I am calling you to join the mujahidin and wake up from sleep,” the fighter said. His real name is not unveiled. The name he gave is not a Kazakh name - extremists often change their names to Arabic ones.

The video was shot against the background of shootings in one of the northern regions of Baghdad in Iraq.

Kazakhstan political experts believe that the attempt of the militants to call to their fellow countrymen to jihad in Syria as a “pilot balloon”. Nurlan Yerimbetov believes that the terrorists have no confidence that they can gain new accomplices from Kazakhstan. “They are waiting for a response to their call, but it is very unlikely that Kazakhstan citizens will respond. I don’t think that our young people will stand up for the interests of some foreign country,” he said.

Religion has become a weapon used by mercenaries in the battle for money among tycoons and criminal groups, Yerimbetov believes. “I feel ashamed that young people turn to this kind of life.The young people use the name of God to excuse their own irresponsibility, denying their own identity and will. They use it as a simple explanation for their failures. While a person should bear responsibility for his fate,” Yerimbetov said.

Another Kazakhstan political expert Rassul Zhymaly believes that the way young people are raise and then provided with education and jobs is the core of the matter. “This is not only about religious literacy and efficiency of the law-enforcement authorities. But is also about the desolateness of youth policies in the country. Education, upbringing and employment are the problems they are facing but finding no solutions in their every-day life. As a result some of these people find support and understanding in the radical groups,” Zhumaly said.

There are many Kazakhstan citizens in the Northern Caucasus, Afghanistan and Syria, the expert added. For example, in Syria, Zhumaly said, they fight together with the local mujahidins against the local governments. “This process is still escalating. Opinion leaders have been raising the issue since the 1990s but nobody has paid much attention to them,” Zhumaly said.